Top post and connection



March 13, 1934. J. A. OLIVIER 1,950,742

TOP POST AND CONNECTION Filed Jan. 24, 1931 INVENTOR fades fi, Olivier.

i/L 4% Emu ATTOR N EYS.

Patented Mar. 13, 1934 UNlTED STATES TOP POST AND CONNECTION Jules A.Olivier, Detroit, Mich, assignor to Dietrich, Incorporated, acorporation of Michigan Application January 24 7 Claims.

As may be inferred from the above title, the present invention relatesto means for the adequate support of a collapsible vehicle top,--such asmay be used upon a convertible touring car, or the like; and theinvention relates specifically to a novel intermediate post, adapted tobe secured at the top of a hinge post for oppositely swung doors andeither to be disposed in an erect position of use or to be inwardlyfolded into a position of disuse.

It is a primary object of the present invention to provide a novel andadvantageous type of hinged connection including a special latchorganization: and, in preferred embodiments of the invention, thementioned special connection, whether or not used upon a top-supportingpost with which windows in car doors may cooperate, may include (inaddition to a plate attached to the mentioned hinge post and providedwith a slidably adjustable latching element movable by manual means, andin addition to a cooperating plate secured at the lower end of thementioned movable post and-provided with a keeper and compressiblecushioning means), special webs respectively integral with said platesand interconnected by means comprising a horizontal but angularlydisposed pivot pin.

Other objects of the present invention, including preferred details ofconstruction of internal or external threaded adjusting means for thementioned slidable latching element or its keeper, and including otherpreferred details of construction of co-operating parts, may be bestappreciated from the following description of one illustrativeembodiment of the invention, taken in connection with the appendedclaims and accompanying drawing.

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of a car provided with a collapsibletop in connection with which an embodiment of the present invention isemployed.

Figs. 2 and 3 are respectively sectional views, on a larger scale, takensubstantially as indicated by the line 22 of Fig. 1, the former beingtaken with the supporting post up, and the latter being taken with thesupporting post folded down into an out-of-the-way position of disuse.

Fig. i is a detail elevational view, taken substantially as indicated bythe arrow 4 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional detail view, taken substantially as isindicated by the lines 55 of Figs. 1 and 2.

Referring first to general features of the car and top organizationillustrated in Fig. 1,between 2. cowl section C and a rear body sectionS are shown doors D and D; between these is disposed a fixed, upwardlyextending body member in the form of a hinge post P; and a top T,extending over most of the mentioned parts and collapsible into a foldedposition above the rear sec- 1931, Serial No. 510,858

tion S is shown as including, in addition to a rearward section B and aforward section F, a main intermediate bow B. The illustrated forwardsection comprises a transverse structural element E engageable with awindshield W, a subsidiary bow B, and a pair of horizontal members H.These horizontal members are preferably formed in three sections, in thegeneral manner illustrated in detail in my co-pending application,Serial No. 523,401 filed Mar. 18, 1931; but the exact character and modeof connection thereof with a removable intermediate post P should beunderstood to be of subordinate interest herein. Preferred details ofthe construction and of the connection and cooperation of this post Pwith the mentioned post P and with additional parts constitutes thesubject matter of the present application.

Referring now more particularly .to details shown in Figs. 2-5inclusive, the top of the post P and the lower end of the post P areshown as provided with cooperating plates 10 and 11, respectivelyintegral with inwardly extending webs 12 and 13,-the latter beingpivotally interconnected by means comprising a substantially horizontalpin 14. This is outwardly inclined .at the rearward end thereof,-thewebs 12 and 13 being so offset at their inner ends, in a rearwarddirection, as to permit the post P to be swung, when not in use, into anoutof-the-way position such as that suggested by the dotted lines P inFig. 1.

When it is in use, the upper end of post P may be secured (preferablyopposite the ends of bow B of the horizontal frame member H, or itsequivalent) by means such as a locking device comprising a handle 15.This handle may be integral with a short vertical shaft 16 carrying alocking lug 17,-engageable beneath a plate 18 at the top of said post;but the connection here referred to may be established only after anoutward pressure has been applied to the post P, sufi'icient to compressa cushioning element 19, carried by one of the plates 10, 11 andengaging the other of said plates, and after said plates have beensecured in the opposing and parallel relationship illustrated in Fig. 5,as by means of a special latch organization.

The post P is shown as comprising both a wooden element and a metallicelement, the latter being preferably integral with plate 11; andalthough various latching means might be employed releasably but veryfirmly to retain the post member P in a substantially upright positionabove part P, or its equivalent, the plate 11 is herein shown asprovided with an integral keeper element 20, projecting inwardly to alevel slightly below the main plane thereof; and the plate 10 is hereinshown as provided with a cylindrical chamber 21, through which extendsthe body of a wing screw 22,said screw being provided with means such asa round-pointed screw 23, entering a peripheral groove 24 therein, toprevent longitudinal movement thereof although permitting a rotativemovement such as slidably to advance or retract a latch element 25. Thelatter is shown as received in a horizontal slot 26 in plate 10 and asengageable with the mentioned keeper 20.

The general mode of use of all parts referred to having been indicatedin connection with the description thereof, it will be understood thatwhenever a top of the general character illustrated, or any preferredtop, is to be or has been collapsed, or even when the port P is merelyto be dispensed with by reason of the fact that windows slidable in thedoors D, D and in guides (not shown) on post P are to be left inpositions of disuse, the post P may be swung downward in the indicatedmanner; and, if desired, the web 13 may include an extension providing astop face 26 for engagement with a corresponding stop surface 27,provided upon web 12; but it should be understood that theselast-mentioned features, as also the method of securing the top of thepost P in its position of use, are relatively immaterial to the presentinvention. In its dependent position the posts P may fit into cornersbehind the ends of a seat (not shown) in proximity to the posts P.

In conclusion, it should be understood not only that various features ofthe described invention might be independently employed but also thatnumerous modifications, additional to any suggested herein, might easilybe devised by skilled workers, if informed of the foregoing,all withoutdeparture from the scope of the present in vention, as the latter isindicated above and in the following claims.

For example, although the fixed and rugged character of the post Psuggests that it, rather than movable post P, proportioned to interfitbelow top T, carry some latch element such as that movably securedwithin the plate 10 of the former, it will be obvious that theillustrated relationships might be reversed, and that otherrattle-obviating cam latch means than those shown might be provided uponor within either of said posts.

It is, however, found highly desirable to dispose any resilient element,such as cushion 19, between the ends of aligned supporting posts P andP. This construction adapts the post P to be firmly grasped, in themanner of a lever fulcrumed on pin 14, to compress said resilientelement in a manner which facilitates easy adjustment of the latchelement 25; and the easy and indefinite adjustability of this latchelement renders the new organization very positive and greatly superiorto known organizations using spring catches or thimb-operated openlinks, or like devices subject to deterioration, in the securing oftop-supporting posts P, or the like.

What I claim is:

1. In an automotive vehicle comprising an upwardly extending bodymember: a movable post member; securing means therefor including platesrespectively carried by said body member and said post member,cooperating parts carried by said plates for releasably holding saidpost member in an upright position upon said body member, cooperatinginwardly extending webs, integral with said plates respectively, and apivotal joint arranged between said plates for pivotally guiding saidmovable post member from an abutting position in extension of said bodymember to a position laterally of and substantially parallel to saidbody member.

2. In an automotive vehicle comprising an up wardly extending bodymember: a movable post member; and securing means therefor includingplates respectively carried by said body member and said postmemben-said plates being provided with cooperating parts releasablyholding said post member in an upright position upon said body memberand with interconnecting means comprising cooperating inwardly extendingwebs, integral with said plates respectively, and a pivotal joint,between said plates, comprising a pin disposed in a horizontal plane andoutwardly inclined at the rearward end thereof.

3. In an automotive vehicle comprising an upwardly extending bodymember: a movable post member; and securing means therefor includingplates respectively carried by said body member and said post member,cooperating parts carried by said plates for releasably holding saidpost member in an upright position upon said body member, and angularlyoffset interconnecting means for said plates so disposed as to permitsaid post to swing to an out-of-the-way dependent position substantiallyparallel to the adjacent portion of said body member.

4. In an automotive vehicle comprising an upwardly extending bodymember: a movable post member; and securing means therefor includingplates respectively carried by said body member and said post member,said plates being provided with cooperating parts releasably holdingsaid post member in an upright position upon said body member andcomprising a latch element associated with one of said members and akeeper element associated with the other of said members, one of saidlast-mentioned holding elements being provided with threaded means for aslidable adjustment thereof.

5. In an automotive vehicle comprising an upwardly extending bodymember: a movable post member; and securing means therefor comprising alatch element associated with one of said members and a keeper elementassociated with the other of said members, said members being providedwith cushioning means between adjacent ends thereof.

6. In an automotive vehicle comprising an upwardly extending bodymember: a movable post member; and securing means therefor comprising alatch element associated with one of said members and a keeper elementassociated with the other of said members, said members being providedwith cushioning means between adjacent ends thereof, said latch elementbeing adjustable, and said posts being 'so pivotally interconnected asto adapt said movable post member to serve as a lever for thecompression of said cushioning means during a tightening of said latchelement.

7. A post for the body of an automotive vehicle comprising a pair ofparts, one part foldable to a position laterally of and substantiallyparallel to the other part, a hinge connecting said parts and comprisingtwo laterally extending web portions, a portion interconnected to form apivot, and co-operating latching elements provided in each of said webportions for locking the portions when together.

JULES A. OLIVIER.

